NWSL

Carli Lloyd's pitch was high and wide, but that is a trifling complaint. At least she did better than poor Gio dos Santos. Lloyd threw out the first pitch for the Seattle Mariners while she and her Houston Dash teammates were in town for a game against the Seattle Reign (which the Reign won, 2-1). 

Time is running out in the NWSL Playoff race, and Wednesday night was one giant tick of the clock. 3rd through 8th are separated by 7 points; 3rd through 6th by just 5. With so little of the season left, and so little separating teams from the postseason, a dropped point or two is a matter of postseason life or death. 

The playoff race in the NWSL just gets tighter and tighter as the season winds down, and Sunday’s match featuring the Chicago Red Stars at the Portland Thorns drove that point home. 5th place Portland beat 2nd place Chicago 2-1, and tied FC Kansas City on points for the last playoff berth. 

A few months ago, Crystal Dunn of the Washington Spirit was left off of the USWNT, and she hasn’t let anyone forget about it since. She currently is the highest scorer in the NWSl with 12 goals in 14 games, and she showed she thoroughly deserved that being in that position with her performance against the Houston Dash this past weekend. 

Women’s soccer has been riding a wave ever since Carli Lloyd scored the goal to end all goals in the 2015 World Cup Final.

Mandatory musical accompaniment to this article.

Megan Rapinoe is obviously not afraid to try something new. 

The USWNT midfielder and World Cup winner was invited to fly with the Navy's Blue Angels. Judging from her expression, she was a little nervous.

Hand-wringing was an appropriate response to how the U.S. Women’s National Team began their World Cup run.

We have been talking on the phone with Rachel Van Hollebeke for a good twenty minutes when she states the unspoken truth. The kind of truth that is only obvious after it has been said aloud.

“I’ve learned the idea of controlling the controllable,” she says.

Clearly, I remember thinking. We are in Boulder, Colorado. Rachel Van Hollebeke, née Rachel Marie Buehler, veteran of the U.S. Women’s National Team, is a thousand miles away in California.

Before this team steals your heart and the hype grows surrounding the USWNT, check out U.S. Soccer's "One Nation. One Team. 23 Stories" to get to know the players.